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Summary
Summary
A Jimmy Fallon's Book Club Finalist for 2024
AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A GMA Buzz Pick!
One of Amazon's Top 10 Best Books of April, One of Jimmy Fallon's favorite books for Spring 2024, The Top LibraryReads pick for March 2024, A Publishers Marketplace 2024 BuzzBook
Named most anticipated by: Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, BookRiot, BookBub, The Nerd Daily, Shelf Reflection, Novel Suspects, Borrow Read Repeat, The Everygirl, The Scout Guide, The Real Book Spy
For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club , an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate.... Now it's up to her great-niece to catch the killer.
It's 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances's night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn't happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.
In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances's lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?
As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt's fate instead of her fortune.
Author Notes
Kristen Perrin is originally from Seattle, Washington, where she spent several years working as a bookseller before moving to the UK to do a master's and PhD. She lives with her family in Surrey, where she can be found poking around vintage bookstores, stomping in the mud with her two kids, and collecting too many plants. Her middle-grade series, Attie and the World Breakers , was published in German, Dutch, and Polish. How to Solve Your Own Murder is her adult debut.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Perrin's twisty debut revolves around a challenge issued from the grave. In 1965, Frances Adams develops a lifelong fear of being killed after a fortune teller at an English country fair warns her that "all signs point toward your murder." Decades later, a now-wealthy Frances summons her great-niece, Annie, to discuss her will in the sleepy village of Castle Knoll, even though the 25-year-old aspiring mystery novelist has never met her eccentric aunt. Minutes after Annie arrives at the estate with Frances's lawyers, they discover her dead body slumped behind the desk in her library. Frances's will states that she expected to be murdered, and that the first person to solve the crime within a week will inherit her assets and property; if no one cracks the case, it all goes to an unpleasant real estate developer. Annie leaps into action, quickly discovering that plenty of Castle Knoll locals have long coveted her late aunt's fortune. Perrin juxtaposes timelines, detailing Frances's provincial life in the 1960s while Annie's investigation grows increasingly treacherous in the present. The pace is quick, the red herrings are plentiful, and Annie's growth from timid wannabe writer to confident sleuth is beautifully rendered. Combining elements of Agatha Christie, Anthony Horowitz, and Midsomer Murders, this is a richly entertaining whodunit from a promising new talent. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Mar.)
Kirkus Review
An aspiring mystery writer sets out to solve her great-aunt's murder and inherit an estate. Twenty-five-year-old Annie Adams has never met her great-aunt Frances, who prefers her small village to busy London. But when a mysterious letter arrives instructing Annie to come to Castle Knoll in Dorset to meet Frances and discuss her role as sole beneficiary of her great-aunt's estate, Annie can't resist. Unfortunately, she arrives to find Frances' worst fears have come true: The elderly woman--who's been haunted for decades by a fortuneteller's prediction that this will happen--has been murdered, and her will dictates that she will leave her entire estate to Annie, but only if Annie solves her killing. It's a cheeky if not exactly believable premise, especially since the local police don't seem terribly opposed to it. Annie herself is an engaging presence, if a little too blind to the fact that she could be on the killer's to-do list. Her roll call of suspects is pleasingly long, including but not limited to the local vicar, a one-time paramour of her great-aunt's; a gardener who grows a lot more than flowers; shady developers and suspicious friends from Frances' past; and Saxon, Annie's crafty rival, who inherits the estate himself if he manages to solve the case first. Annie pieces together clues through readings of Frances' journal, but the story eventually runs aground on the twin rocks of too much explanation and a flimsy climax. Cute dialogue gives way to lengthy exposition, and by the time Frances' killer is revealed you may well be ready to leave Annie, Dorset, and Castle Knoll behind for the firmer ground of reality. Fans of cozy mysteries are likely to be more forgiving, but if you cast a skeptical eye toward amateur sleuths, this novel won't change your mind about them. Breezy, entertaining characters and a cheeky premise fall prey to too much explanation and an unlikely climax. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In 1965, Frances and her best friends go to a fortune-teller who predicts Frances' murder, causing her to start tracking friends and enemies alike. Decades later, Annie Adams has arrived from London to meet Great-Aunt Frances at her vast country estate near the village of Castle Knoll as she's just replaced Annie's mom as an heir to a family fortune. But someone has murdered Frances, and now Annie will have to sort through all of Frances' files in search of the killer's identity or become the next victim. Two of Annie's best features are her awareness of being an amateur sleuth and acknowledging that her mystery-writing might be a flawed foundation for finding a killer, even as she proceeds with conviction. The dual time lines are equally strong in exploring nuanced characters and in building tension around secrets, some possibly worth dying for, and the complex relationships are factored into both aspects. Select a positive superlative and be confident readers will use it in describing this tale. Fans of Alice Bell, Janice Hallett, and Agatha Christie will hope to see more from Perrin, who set aside YA fiction to make her adult debut.
